Ok so heres my dilema, I am on a SNUG budget. (ya like aren't we all??) So I have a 66 el camino. I love this car! I want to make it handle well enough to occasionally autocross and run down some import dorks. I am looking for advice where to throw my miniscule pennies at on the suspension. It has 2" drop spindles and metric chassis brakes on the front, stock sway bar on the front, so so gas charged shocks, and good 17" rubber. So should I go for the big sway bars front and rear for the first phase? Or should i be looking for circle track springs? And if springs are the next phase, whats a good rate to look for? and for my final question, does anyone know if the aftermarket 2" drop spindles do anything to correct for bump steer, or do i need some extensions to get the "bump" out? I have seen a lot of great stuff on this site, you folks are very knowledgable. Help???'
D~

i'd say that springs are the place to start- but they don't have to be brand new. there are soome pretty beefy springs that can be found in junkyards that are easily chopped..

I agree, springs should be first... Sway bars are more fine tuning and easier to change later...

While you are swapping springs, NOW would be the time to freshen the rest of the suspension, unless you already did that (Balljoints and bushings)... IF you spindles are "stock height", then maybe consider an upgrade to taller balljoints, and maybe new upper arms (can be pricey, but thats where the most "handling" benefit will come from)... IF the upper control arms need refreshing, then that cost would partially cover the upgrade...

I just did the SC&C/SPC upper arms with "tall" ball joints. I still have the "stock" sway bar (AFAIK), so thats on my list.

IMO, cure the camber before worrying too my about bumpsteer. Bumpsteer with stock spindles isn't too bad, so if the aftermarket setup mimicks the stock pieces, I'd focus elsewhere initially...

What brand of "dropped spindles"? Lots of different ones out there...

I believe they are either Heidts spindles or a knock off of them. My dad did the initial drop on the car. Maybe i can search and do a little measuring to see if the spindles are equivalent to stock.
Does anyone know if there is a chart on the all mighty internet somewhere that would tell me the spring rates of gm or other vehicles so that i dont have to be an engineer to figure out spring rates?? (ok ok so I can do the math, I just dont wanna).
Has anyone used any Afco arms or shocks??
D~

you could look up various cars and trucks to get Moog part numbers for springs and then look then up by that number to get the specs.
for example, i know that a fairly popular cheap front spring for the G body crowd is designed for a 2wd S10 truck and has something like a 600# rating but puts most of the cars a little below the stock ride height. chop a coil, and the car gets lowered a bit and the spring gets even stiffer.

I would cut the front spring to below desired ride height then use spring spacers inisde the coils to make non active coils.

this will give you hight rate springs up front for pennies on the dollar.

spring clamps to make non active coils in back
will lower the ride height and raise the rate for about $20

SC&C rear bar and a junk yard 2nd gen WS6 bar and youll be in the game.

Now if you have money left over
Spring *pun intended* for some used 17 rims and Nitto NT01s!

I would cut the front spring to below desired ride height then use spring spacers inisde the coils to make non active coils.

this will give you hight rate springs up front for pennies on the dollar.

spring clamps to make non active coils in back
will lower the ride height and raise the rate for about $20

SC&C rear bar and a junk yard 2nd gen WS6 bar and youll be in the game.

Now if you have money left over
Spring *pun intended* for some used 17 rims and Nitto NT01s!

Ok so this may be a dumb question, 2nd gen WS6? (second gen what?? A body?)

Ok so this may be a dumb question, 2nd gen WS6? (second gen what?? A body?)

he is talking about second gen F body.
WS6 was the rpo code for the best handling suspension package on Trans Ams. they have bigger front sway bars that bolt onto older Chevelles.

Very cool. So is 600 lb springs on the front enough on a small block car? And what would be enough in the rear? And here is another question, Wouldn't the use of the rubber spring spacers be like extending the jounce bumpers? Or is it a decent low budget trick until I can get my hands on some higher rate springs?
So has no one used the Afco stuff?
D~

Or is it a decent low budget trick until I can get my hands on some higher rate springs?

YES! it will wotk good.
The rubber spacers will last several years for less than a steak dinner.

I would cut the front spring to below desired ride height then use spring spacers inisde the coils to make non active coils.

this will give you hight rate springs up front for pennies on the dollar.

spring clamps to make non active coils in back
will lower the ride height and raise the rate for about $20...and the result is unknown & unmatched spring rates that are too stiff for his existing shocks to dampen properly.

SC&C rear bar and a junk yard 2nd gen WS6 bar and youll be in the game.I agree with this...

Now if you have money left over
Spring *pun intended* for some used 17 rims and Nitto NT01s!
Or, better yet, correct the front geometry so that good rubber isn't corded in just a few events...

Very cool. So is 600 lb springs on the front enough on a small block car? And what would be enough in the rear? And here is another question, Wouldn't the use of the rubber spring spacers be like extending the jounce bumpers? Or is it a decent low budget trick until I can get my hands on some higher rate springs?
So has no one used the Afco stuff?
D~
I have 700lb AFCO springs in my car, with a SB. Anything over about 400lb will require a shock upgrade...

...and the result is unknown & unmatched spring rates that are too stiff for his existing shocks to dampen properly.


I was wondering about this issue myself. I have autocrossed a fwd import off and on for a while now. Springs and dampers seem to be a huge improvement.



I have 700lb AFCO springs in my car, with a SB. Anything over about 400lb will require a shock upgrade...

Any suggestions for dampers?? I use Tokico on my little car and they are awesome, very user friendly and affordable. I am just flustered at the difference in prices for import vs. domestic stuff. I really prefer the good ol american muscle and I love my el camino, but sometimes its not affordable to play hard like i want to! I dont expect the el camino to win any national titles, but i would like to be able to be competitive!!:yes: